Rare shark nursery found off Ireland's west coast

Scientists have discovered a rare shark nursery about 200 nautical miles off the west coast of Ireland.

The announcement took place at the INFOMAR Seebett Mapping Seminar in Kinsale on Thursday, reports BreakingNews.ie.

The discovery occurred in July during the recent survey "SeaRover" by the Remote Control Vehicle of the Marine Institute (ROV) Holland 1 deployed aboard the ILV Granuaile.

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Numerous egg crates, so-called mermaid bags, were shot on the ocean floor at depths of up to 750 meters.

A large The Blackmouth Caged Shark (Galeus melastomus) school was present at the site, and it is believed that the eggs are of this species. Also observed was a second unusual and lonely species, the Sailfin roughhook (Oxynotus paradoxus), which may have been feeding on the eggs, although the scientists said they had not observed this.

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Both species are on the" Red List "of Endangered Species of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .The Irish Times reported that Ireland needs to monitor deepwater sharks under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The shark nursery was observed in one of the six offshore protected areas (SACs) identified in Ireland in the area of ​​reefs listed in Annex 1 of the Habitats Directive for protected areas

Scientists said that such a large concentration of oocytes " is rarely recorded and indicates that women in this particular area can gather on the seabed to lay their eggs. "

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David O & Sullivan of INFOMAR and Chief Scientist of the SeaRover Survey (Sensitive Ecosystem Analysis and ROV Exploration of the Reef Habit ats) said that the nursery was "not previously documented" Irish waters. "

" This discovery demonstrates the importance of documenting sensitive marine habitats and will give us a better understanding of the biology of these beautiful animals and their livestock ecosystem function in Ireland's biologically sensitive area, "he said.